4/20 -- which falls on Saturday -- has been a rallying cry for supporters of legalizing marijuana since it was popularized by California teens in 1971 and once again brings up the question of whether it should be legal in Texas and in the nation.

There was a time when the country was strongly against it. Now a new national poll, released by the Pew Research Center, shows that for the first time a majority of Americans -- 52% -- favor legalization. Just 45% are against. Colorado and Washington have passed laws to make marijuana legal within their borders and many more states have approved it for medicinal uses. The Daily Chronic website tracks the road to its approval for for medical reasons and for overall decriminalization in other states, noting that Alaska is considering decriminalization in 2014.

Not a peep about this in Texas of course. But why not Texas? Why shouldn't a state which is so proud of individual freedoms not grant the right for people to make their own choice about whether or not to use marijuana for medicinal or even recreational uses?

As someone who has never tried or had any personal interest in marijuana, it doesn't make any logical sense to me to make it illegal for this substance to be used for pain relief or recreation -- provided it is regulated in a similar manner to alcohol or even cigarettes. You shouldn't be driving under the influence or do anything that would put anyone in danger. And businesses should have a perfect right to a smoke-free environment as many do regarding cigarettes which have been scientifically proven to cause lung cancer. But should you be arrested and thrown into prison -- ruining lives and costing the taxpayers millions-- for doing something privately that should be no one's business? I don't think so.

Multiple studies, including brain scans, show that marijuana, or cannabis as it is called medically, is effective at reducing pain. In fact, it is a far less dangerous drug than many of the "legal" drugs prescribed for pain relief because it has no known toxicity. It has also been shown to reduce intra-ocular pressure in people with glaucoma, prevent or inhibit the progression of Alzheimer's disease by preventing the formation of deposits in the brain, block the spread of breast cancer and provide anti-inflammatory effects that could be helpful diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Do you question these tests? Fine, then run more. But in the meantime, why eliminate one of the tools in the medical toolbox?

Considering the dangerous and addictive potential of many of our legal medicines, I do find it astonishing that our government supports its ban on marijuana by calling it a “Schedule I” controlled substance — meaning it has no medical use (which contradicts many medical studies), strong potential for addiction (Really? As opposed to the legal vicodin, hydrocodone and percocet?) and danger to persons using it (ditto to all the legal painkillers already mentioned and more)?

Prohibition made alcohol illegal from 1920-1933. It was, by most accounts, a financial and social disaster. It led to a rise in organized crime as people continued to get the drinks they wanted from those willing to break the law to sell it to them. Many don't realize that there was also a time when marijuana was not illegal -- that didn't happen until the passage of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. The outcome of marijuana being illegal has also led to a rise in organized crime including bloody battles with drug lords as people continue to get the marijuana they want from people willing to break the law to sell it to them.

Some believe the polls are shifting on legalizing marijuana because the Baby Boomer generation, most of whom have tried it, is now the biggest voting block. Many kids of Baby Boomers use it casually and are shocked on the occasion when police enforce the laws that criminalize it.

I say it's time for Texas, which is in the forefront of so much great medical research, to embrace the studies on marijuana and see where they lead. I say it's time for Texas, to let this old grudge against marijuana go the way of Prohibition and let people decide for themselves if they want to smoke it recreationally. I say it's time, with 4/20 coming around, to at least reopen the conversation.